PULLMAN– The School of Music and Theatre Arts at Washington State University announced that Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Corigliano will be the featured composer of the 2007 Festival of Contemporary Art Music.
Corigliano’s compositions will be performed in a public concert by WSU faculty and students Saturday, Feb.10, at 8:00 p.m. in Bryan Hall Theatre.
Widely acknowledged as one of America’s finest and most recognized composers, John Corigliano has received several Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for his Second Symphony, a Grawemeyer, and an Academy Award for his score to Francois Giraud’s 1997 film “The Red Violin.”
“John Corigliano is a global icon,” said Charles Argersinger, creator and director of WSU’s Festival of Contemporary Art Music. “By nearly universal acclaim among the professional community, John Corigliano is judged to be the dean of American composers in the 21st century. Even among the tiny circle of Pulitzer Prize winning composers, John stands out as the leading representative of American contemporary art music.”
Corigliano will visit campus February 8–10 to speak to students and faculty and attend a rehearsal of his compositions.
“In every case, when our guests have worked with our students and faculty, they have described their WSU experience as in the same league as the best they have seen,” said Erich Lear, dean of WSU’s College of Liberal Arts. “Their exchanges with us reconfirm for us what the best is and that we are producing it.”
Corigliano holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Music at Lehman College, City University of New York, and serves on the faculty at the Juilliard School of Music. In 1991, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; in 1992, Musical America named him “Composer of the Year,” their first ever. He has received grants from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.
The creator of three symphonies, critics say Corigliano is perhaps the most important symphonist of the late 20th century and that he will be remembered as one of the great mavericks of his generation.
“John Corigliano’s career takes him quite literally around the world on a regular basis,” Argersinger said. “The opportunity to meet him, and hear him speak about his music in our own Palouse community, is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. Every devotee of contemporary art music within a radius of 500 miles should make every effort to come to WSU for this extraordinary event.”
“John Corigliano, and artists at his level, give us an intimate awareness of individual creativity and its most visible impact,” Lear said.
New student compositions will be presented at a School of Music and Theatre Arts convocation Thursday, Feb. 8, at 11:10 a.m. in Kimbrough Concert Hall.
A faculty concert showcasing new work by WSU professors will be performed Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8:00 p.m. in Bryan Hall Theatre.
WSU’s 2007 Festival of Contemporary Art Music will include a campus visit by piano instructor, music teacher, composer and clinician Melody Bober. Her works have been published extensively by the FJH Music Company, Lorenz Publishing, Willis Music Company and Nazarene Publishing House.
Bober graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in music education and later received a master’s degree in piano performance from Minnesota State University. Her career has included teaching music in public schools and at the university level, serving as church music director, and performing as a soloist and accompanist.
“As a composer, Melody Bober’s goal is to create exciting and challenging pieces that are strong teaching tools to promote a lifelong love, understanding of and appreciation for music,” said Michelle Mielke, instructor of music and program coordinator, School of Music Piano Pedagogy Lab School. “Pedagogy, ear training and musical expression are fundamentals of Melody’s teaching, as well as fostering composition skills in her students.”
Bober will teach a master class Friday, Feb. 9, at 5:00 p.m. in Kimbrough Concert Hall. Piano Pedagogy Lab School (PPLS) students will perform original compositions or compositions composed by Bober.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, at 11:00 a.m., PPLS students will perform a recital of works by Melody Bober with comments by the composer. The performance will be held in the Kimbrough Concert Hall.
At 2:00 p.m. Saturday, the School of Music and Theatre Arts will host a clinic with Q&A featuring Melody Bober. The workshop is titled “The Life of the Musician/Teacher/Composer” and will be held in room 101 of the Kimbrough Music Building. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the following sites:
John Corigliano’s bio, courtesy of his publisher, G. Schirmer, can be found at http://www.schirmer.com/.
Festival of Contemporary Art Music: http://libarts.wsu.edu/artmusic/.
